How We Settled In...

Moving is hard, but with this move, I wanted to make the transition as seamless as possible. We've been in Austin for two months now, and we're settling in better than I had imagined... I'm not sure if your family moves a lot.. for us, we've lived in 5 states in 14 years and had 10 houses....but I thought I'd share some tips today of how we've made this move easier for the girls and how we work quickly to settle in to a new town. 

When DJ applied for the job at Texas, we actually weren't looking to move. We were settled and happy and loved where we were. But, when we first got married, we promised each other that if God opened a door, we would go. Over the years, doors were closed so many times, but this door opened wide for us, and we knew we were meant to move, even if it meant a lot of changes.

One thing we do, is that we don't actually tell the girls we're moving until we know for sure that it's happening. DJ and I knew about the possibility for a few weeks, and as soon as it was confirmed, we told the girls. Immediately.

They were sad and afraid of the changes but we talked to them about what an adventure it would be and the area that we were moving to. We were very honest with their feelings and let them know that it was okay to be sad, but we always reminded them about how much fun this could be! 

We explored. 

As soon as we could head to Austin, with the girls, we did, and we showed them all of the amazing things that were nearby. We went on adventures, we found new restaurants, we tried to do as many fun things as we possibly could. 

DJ moved several months before we did, so it was important that we were able to visit. We also texted and face timed a ton while he was away. 

Football is obviously a big part of our life, and we've raised the girls with them knowing that football is important and that we'll always love and support whichever team their dad works for. We get them involved with the university as fast as possible. We explore, show them around, get them to team activities, practices- any opportunity we have to BE at football, we're there. 

I let them pick things out for their spaces. Gretchen has her own bathroom, so she had a ton of input in picking out what she wanted. This made her super excited to move, because she knew she would get a space all her own. 

We said good-bye. We got together with as many friends as we could to say good bye. We took pictures (which are now printed and in their new bedrooms), and made promises to see each other again. 

We're sitting in the stands! Actually, the little girls are in babysitting, but I have Gretchen with me, and she's learning and soaking in all the traditions of Texas football. She's also loving the special 1:1 time, but she's excited about the sport, watching the game, and cheering along with the other fans. 

We also go down to the field before and after the games. Which, really, we don't have to. It's never something we've done before, and we don't get to see DJ very long before the game, and we don't see him afterwards until we go to his office, but this is all about getting the girls to feel like they're a part of something bigger. 

We let friends come over, and we're trying to meet as many neighbors as possible. When Gretchen was invited to a Halloween party, she went.... Megan has a birthday party invitation, and she'll go. 

We're in a season of saying "yes" because this gives us an opportunity to meet new people and form our community. Even if I don't really want to, because I'm such an introvert, we say "yes". 

We're letting the girls say "yes" to things too. Gretchen wanted to audition for her morning announcements crew at school, and we let her. She wants to do a competition thing in January, so we filled out the form so she could do it. We had to put off gymnastics, but we're working on getting the girls back in to their normal activities ASAP. 

We prayed big time about the transition and that it would be easy for the girls. They made friends quickly, which was an answered prayer. 

A few other things we did:

youtube videos about the university and town

made a list of things to do in Oklahoma before we moved

showed them the house we were buying as soon as we could

visited Austin several times

talked a ton about how exciting the change could be

allowed them time to be sad and validated their feelings

got them involved in the process

How do your kids handle change? Has your family made a big move? How have you made it easier?

We Need To Catch Up.....

So, it's been a while. In the last two weeks, we've said goodbye to our friends and home in Tulsa, and made our way to Austin, Tx to get settled in to our new home. It's been a whirlwind and I'm so relieved that we're finally together as a family. 

The moving date honestly snuck up on me. We weren't 100% sure when we would close on our home, and we had about a week once we got the official closing date, so it was a scramble to get everything moved so we could head to DJ in Austin. 

I promised the girls that we would try to get their friends together before we left, but our house was in disarray, so we decided to do an impromptu gathering at the park. Unfortunately, it was hot and last minute, so a lot of friends couldn't make it. But, we sure had a great time with the ones that did! 

These girls have been friends since they were 3! 

And of course Connor and his sister came to say goodbye. We brought Connor a Texas shirt and autographed poster, so we can turn this Sooner fan in to a Longhorn. 

Then, we went to the their house to play some more. 

Saying goodbye to sweet friends is hard. 

So, hard. 

We ran home for dinner, and discovered that the chicken I had set out to cook, wasn't thawed. So, we had ice cream for dinner instead. 

And Megan did handless handstands, by using the brick to balance her feet. 

Monday afternoon, Adalyn's friend came over to play and say goodbye. 

And then Megan's BFF came over for a few hours. 

Tuesday was packing day. Our movers came and packed the entire house, and afterwards, the girls and I went to the library. 

Wednesday morning, we had mini doughnuts for breakfast and waited on the moving van to arrive. 

By mid-afternoon, all of our possessions were on the truck and we scrambled to clean the house. 

Once we were done, we danced around an empty living room and said our good byes. 

I'm not a super emotional person when it comes to moving. We've moved 9 times and have had several houses, and really, it's just a house. The memories, will go with us. And, we've been a part as a family for several weeks, so we were ready to be back together as a family. It just marked one door closing, and another adventure opening wide up. I had a mix of emotions of tired, stressed, ready, exhausted, sad....so, maybe it was a little bittersweet. 

The day we moved in and the day we moved out.

We headed to a hotel for the night, and the next morning, we made our drive to Texas. 

We stopped at the welcome center on the state line, and officially became Texans. 

The girls even got little Texas welcome gifts! 

An 8 hour drive, meant uninterrupted reading time. Gretchen started and finished the 1st Harry Potter book on our drive. 

On Friday, we closed on our house, DJ went to the team hotel, and the girls and I went on a hike, which turned out to be a horrible idea. It had been raining, so it was super humid and the mosquitos were out and they were fierce. At any given time, we would stop and I would have 2-7 mosquitos on my body. 

We found a little spring and looked at tadpoles. 

Whoops, this one's sideways! 

We hiked about a mile, and then headed back to DJ's apartment and cooled off in the pool!

We called it an early night, because the next day was game day!!!!

See y'all back here tomorrow! 

Our Last Week in Tulsa...

Well, we finally made it to our last week here in Tulsa. DJ called me last week, and let me know that it was finally time to move. And all the angels said "Amen." I honestly feel like we've been waiting forever, and finally everything is falling in to place. Our movers will be here Tuesday and Wednesday, and by the end of the week, we'll be in Austin, and settling in to our new house shortly after.

This weekend, we went to one last Tulsa football game. Tulsa played my alma mater, Arkansas State, and my cousin came up for the game, so we thought it would be fun to tag along. Apparently, we can't get enough football. 

I won't lie, I'll miss the "small town" feel of Tulsa football games. 

We sat with my cousin who had wonderful seats just a few rows up from the field. The girls had lots of room to move around, and we were super close to the cheerleaders, which basically meant that the little girls were living their best life. 

We also saw Captain Cane. 

The cheerleaders let the girls borrow their pom poms, and they were so excited. 

Megan used her ipad to video the cheerleaders and game and said she was going to be a video coordinator when she grows up :) 

And, in the 3rd quarter, the girls made the big screen. Poor Megan didn't have a clue! Ha!

Can you spot Megan and Adalyn?

Then Gretchen and Aunt Jan made the video board! 

The game was also on TV, and apparently the girls made the TV game too! 

This past week has also been full of lots of play time, packing, and some rest time. 

And, sometimes, it's important to stay in pj's all day and get some snuggles. 

Sunday afternoon, we met a few friends at the park to say goodbye. 

Gretchen's friend Connor came and we brought some Texas gear for him. 

And I was able to say goodbye to his momma and my friend too. 

We eventually found ourselves at their house and the kids had the best time playing together. 

But, all good things must come to an end, so eventually good byes were said, and promises were made to keep in touch and see each other soon. 

We sure are going to miss it here. 

Let's Chat Texas...

Okay, I guess it's time that I blog about Texas. 

I've had a lot of questions, and I thought I'd try to answer some of them in this post and try to explain the details that I can of how this change happened for our family. 

Back in May, DJ told me the Texas job was open and I teased him asking if he was going to apply and he told me no. He didn't know anyone on staff, and usually in college football, you need to know someone and have an "in". Fast forward a few weeks later and he was receiving a phone call asking him if he was interested in the position. He sent in his resume, had a phone interview, in person interview, and somewhere in Mississippi,  driving to Gulf Shores, he got a phone call letting him know that he got the position! 

So.... after we spent time at the beach, and then the lake, we took the girls back to my parents house. Between my parents and my cousin, the girls had a place to stay for the weekend, and DJ and I set off for Austin to go house hunting for the weekend. 

Peanut butter M&M's = Road Trip Essentials. 

We stopped at In & Out in Dallas, and I realized that we'd be able to eat In & Out weekly when we moved! 

I also realized that we'd be super close to Waco, and could go to Magnolia any time we wanted! We actually stopped on the way down- I really just wanted to go to the bakery, but the line was crazy long, so we drove on by- because we'll only be a few hours from Waco in the near future! 

On the outskirts of Austin, in Round Rock, I realized there was an Ikea and I may have jumped out of my seat and freaked out the driver! Sorry, DJ! I mean, we're just now getting in to Austin, and I'm already in love. 

We arrived Friday night, and checked in to our hotel, and then headed to the university to peek at the stadium. 

And wow. 

We were feeling all sorts of emotions; a little overwhelmed, a little surreal, a little bittersweet. 

We walked around the outskirts of the stadium for a bit, drove around the university, and then headed to South Congress for dinner. 

We sat outside while waiting for our table, and people watched. After a few minutes, we understood the "Keep Austin Weird" phrase. I'd be lying to say that this isn't going to be a bit of a culture shock for our family. But, I'd also be lying if I said that I wasn't thrilled about it. I'm excited to emerge our family in to the culture of Austin and it's people. 

We ate at Guero's, and had yummy Mexican food, and then walked a few blocks on South Congress. 

The next morning, we were up early to meet our realtor for some house hunting. There was a rainbow, and I thought for sure, it would be a good sign. 

Plus, my house hunting dress was super comfy. 

But, after a full day of house hunting, and becoming super frustrated with the housing market, we went back to the hotel, and I felt like this. I had spent weeks saving favorites, searching homes, researching school districts, and sending our realtor our housing selections. But, pictures are deceiving, and there were way too many scented plug ins. So, on top of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, DJ and I both had huge headaches. 

We rallied the troops, drank some Zyng, and met one of the operations managers for the team at the stadium and offices. His family was in town and he was showing them around, so we were able to tag along. 

When you walk in to the offices, there are two Heisman trophies, and then a walk way of more trophies, including national championship trophies. 

Y'all, we have always been "small time" college football. We've always been at the D-1 level, but none of our schools have been able to play for national championships. 

So, I'm not going to lie that I was impressed, and humbled, and so crazy proud of my husband for this opportunity. 

This set of longhorns is near the locker room, and the players touch the horns, before hitting the field on game day. 

And, I had to take a photo of this wall for my OU friends. 

Texas/OU play each year in Dallas and it's a huge game and huge rivalry. This year, the trophy from the game will be back on the stand in the middle ;) 

After our little tour, we grabbed dinner at Torchy's Tacos, and headed back to sleep. We were exhausted. 

Sunday morning, our realtor called and asked us if we had time to look at a few more houses. So, we headed to a new construction neighborhood, checked out some houses, grabbed lunch, headed to an open house, and called it a weekend after........ 

we put in a contingent offer on a new construction home. 

On our way home, we stopped at the Czech Stop in West, Texas, which is a must for anyone traveling on I-35. I promise. 

Nutella kolaches. Yes, please! 

Seriously, so good.

So, at this point, we have our current house on the market. DJ started his position at the University of Texas this past Monday. Since it's summer, the girls and I are hanging out at home. We have a few small trips planned, but our main goal is to sell our house! 

School in Texas starts on August 16. Realistically, we cannot close on our Texas home until we have an offer and close on our Tulsa home. So, we're in limbo. I don't think that we'll make it to Texas before school starts. I have currently put in notification to my current position that I will not be returning in August. Our plan is to homeschool the girls until we are able to move and get settled in Texas. I really felt that we should not start them in school for a few weeks, just to pull them out, move, and start a new school. It just seemed really unfair to them and would make the transition harder. Now, if it looks like we won't be able to move until October or later, then we'll re-evaluate our plans. 

I will work in Texas, but I'm not currently looking for a position. My goal now is sell our house, move, and get our girls settled. They are my priority. I know that the move will be difficult for them. There have been tears, and lots of reassuring that they'll make new friends, and be able to visit Oklahoma friends as often as possible. When we get moved and settled, I'll begin looking for a position, but I also want to be available for football season and be there to support DJ and the team in whatever that may look like for this season. 

Leaving Tulsa is bittersweet. We moved here when Megan was two weeks old, and we've fallen in love with this city. We have some wonderful friends, and we have loved working with the coaching staff at TU. They are incredible people. We have a home we love. We are so close to family. We love our church. Part of me has felt that Tulsa would be our forever home. But, in the back of my head, I knew that one day, we would leave. 

There will be more tears shed, but we are so excited for this opportunity and to work at this level. Starting over will be hard, but we can do it. We've done it before. When DJ and I got married, I told him that we'll go wherever his job takes him. That I will 100% support him and be his biggest cheerleader. If God opens a door for us to go, we'll go. Looking back, we know that God has been working in our lives to prepare us for this move, and we'll continue to put our faith in Him that our house will sell and we'll be together as a family again in Austin.